Kenmore & Acharn

The conservation village of Kenmore enjoys a strategic location at the foot of Drummond Hill where the River Tay, Scotland’s longest river, passes under an 18th century bridge to start its journey from Loch Tay to the sea.

The village developed around the Kenmore Hotel, Scotland’s oldest inn, built in 1572. Robert Burns stayed here in 1782 and etched a poem, which can still be seen, into the fireplace. The pretty church was built in 1759 and the present day village was laid out in the 18th century by the 3rd Earl of Breadalbane. At one end of the village square is the West Gateway to Taymouth Castle, a gothic pile that was built in 1810.

The beautiful lochside beach stretches from the speciality shopping and restaurant complex at Taymouth Courtyard round to the Scottish Crannog Centre, an interactive heritage centre with a reconstructed Iron Age loch dwelling built on stilts above the water. At one time there were no less than 18 different crannogs on Loch Tay. There are breathtaking views down the length of the loch and a centre where you can hire boats and watersports equipment.The glorious Falls of Acharn drop over 70 feet and are accessed by a footpath from the village of Acharn on the south shore of Loch Tay, which was built in the 18th century to house tradesmen and estate workers.

There is car parking and good signposting from the village to the falls. The path is a moderate climb of just under a couple of miles through beech woods.

The falls once had a hermitage with two man-made tunnels leading to a viewing platform overlooking the waters. This was built in the 1760s by the 3rd Earl of Breadalbane and was visited by Robert Burns and William Wordsworth amongst others. It later fell into disrepair, but has recently been partially restored to provide a safe platform from which the falls can be seen at their best.

On the way back down from the falls, you can enjoy lovely views across Loch Tay and may be able to spot some of the crannogs that still rest above or slightly below the waters.